The minor league season is over, but there is still a lot to wrap up. In today’s piece Tony looks at the sensational pro debut for short season Single-A Mahoning Valley right-hander Cole Sulser and his prospect future, looks at the exceptional season that Low-A Lake County outfielder LeVon Washington had at the plate, the amazing consistency of High-A Carolina outfielder Jordan Smith and what kind of prospect he truly is, and tons of comments from Triple-A Columbus pitching coach Tony Arnold on several of his pitchers such as Trevor Bauer, T.J. House, Bryan Price and others.

Development was the anchor for the Lake County Captains this year. The team certainly had its ups and downs as it finished 54-83 overall. Each element of the team had its holes, from struggling starters to a handful of ugly errors, but the team undoubtedly showed progress, which is the name of the game in the minors. The IBI's Stephanie Metzger chimes in with her final notebook and recaps the season that was for the Captains.

The Bowling Green Hot Rods (42-26, 80-56) kept their second-half Eastern Division hopes alive with a 5-3 win over the Lake County Captains (31-37, 54-81) on Saturday night. A three run fifth inning was the big blow to the Captains.

The Lake County Captains dropped the final home game of their 2013 season to the Lansing Lugnuts 8-5 on Friday night. Friday’s loss seals the Captains’ home record at 30-40 and 54-80 overall. Luis Morel received the loss and Lansing reliever Griffin Murphy received the win.

The catching depth in the system might not be of the elite variety, but there are some intriguing names to follow heading into 2014. One of those is Eric Haase, who displayed why he is someone to pay attention to Thursday night. To read all about Haase's powerful showing and everything else you need to know about the night in the minor leagues, join Jim Piascik as he takes you Around The Farm.

Mick Jagger sang that you can't always get what you want. Jordan Smith is proof that sometimes you find, you get what you need. We all wanted to see Smith develop some power and that is exactly what is happening in August. To read all about Smith's powerful night, a 2013 draft pick dominating in Mahoning Valley, and everything else you need to know about the night in the minor leagues, join Jim Piascik as he takes you Around The Farm.

The Lansing Lugnuts (26-39, 58-76) used a six-run second inning en route to a 11-2 win over the Lake County Captains (30-35, 53-80) on Wednesday night. The Captains have lost four straight and eight of the last 10 games.

The season is winding down to its final week and the Lake County Captains won’t be seeing any postseason action this year. The past two weeks were vital for the team's chances to advance, but the wins just didn’t happen as the team was swept by West Michigan and dropped two of three to Dayton. With one homestand remaining, the team will look to finish strong before the fall leagues start. The IBI's Stephanie Metzger recaps the previous week for the Captains.

The West Michigan Whitecaps (32-30, 65-67) completed a four game sweep of the Lake County Captains (30-34, 53-78) on Monday night on a three-run walk-off homerun by first baseman Lance Durham in the bottom of the ninth.

The West Michigan Whitecaps (31-30, 64-67) scored the winning run in the eighth inning in both games en route to sweeping the doubleheader against the Lake County Captains (30-33, 53-77) on Sunday afternoon.

The West Michigan Whitecaps washed over the Lake County Captains with a pair of home runs in a 6-2 win on Saturday night.
Right-hander Jake Sisco (4-11, 4.83) tossed two innings for the Captains in opposition to Whitecaps’ starter Edgar De La Rosa (8-6, 5.87). Luis DeJesus pitched in relief for the Captains and surrendered a pair of costly home runs.

In this week’s second edition of Minor Happenings, Tony takes a look at the impressive pro debut by Clint Frazier out in Arizona, where he is excelling/struggling, and where the numbers can also be misleading. He also provides several comments from the front office on some lesser talked about players at Lake County such as Luis Morel, Jeremy Lucas, Richard Stock, Joe Sever and others, and provides insight into Jose Ramirez’s big league future, Francisco Lindor’s season being over, the breakout year for Erik Gonzalez and much more.

Even though Danny Salazar has come up to the major leagues and gotten results, the organization has not done the best job of developing starting pitching in recent years. There are a few pitchers making waves now, but long-term success will rely on more than one or two arms. Joseph Colon is one of those guys Cleveland needs to develop in order to have more starting depth and he showed what he is capable of Thursday. To read all about Colon's night and everything else you need to know about the minor leagues, join Jim Piascik as he takes you Around The Farm.

The Lake County Captains let an early lead slip as the Dayton Dragons clawed their way to a 5-3 win on Thursday night. Right-hander Robbie Aviles (4-3, 3.84) received the start for the Captains against Dayton righty Drew Cisco (4-7, 3.90).

The ups and downs of a long baseball season can affect even the best players. There was a point when Carolina second baseman Joe Wendle and Lake County right-hander Dylan Baker were red-hot, yet of late, the pair had struggled. That was not the case Wednesday night as both broke out in big ways. To read about their night and everything you need to know about Wednesday in the minor leagues, join Jim Piascik as he takes you Around The Farm.

The Lake County Captains fell to the Dayton Dragons 4-3 despite another solid outing from starting pitcher Dylan Baker on Wednesday night. Baker (7-6, 3.77) received a no-decision as he tossed six scoreless innings in his last outing. Lefty Amir Garrett (1-2, 5.61) received the start for the Dragons.

The Lake County Captains continued their recent success with a handful of W’s last week, complete with one of their own being deemed Cleveland Indians Minor League Player of the Week. As the playoffs loom closer, the team now must press to produce offensively, which has been its Achilles all year. The IBI's Stephanie Metzger takes a look back at the previous week for the Captains.

Available IBI Books

The 2014 Cleveland Indians Baseball Insider book featuring the Indians' Top 100 Prospects and more is now available. Also, previous editions from 2008-2012 are also available at a discounted rate. Just click on the book image for more information. Thanks again for all the support!